Canary
by Shiverice
Summary: The Hunger Games are over. Katniss and Peeta have destroyed the Capitol and started a family of their own. What will happen when President Snow's granddaughter, Sarah Branch, renews the Capitol and becomes President Branch? This is the journey of Katniss and Peeta's daughter, Willow Mellark.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Willow Mellark. I'm fifteen years old and I live in District 12. I have brown hair and blue eyes. My mother is Katniss Everdeen and my father is Peeta Mellark. My parents used to tell me stories about their life before President Paylor took over. When I turned nine, President Snow's granddaughter, Branch reassembled the Peacekeepers. She became President Branch. So now, life is how it was when my parents were my age. The Hunger Games were put back in to action. My family is the poorest in District Twelve since Branch hates us so much. I used to have a little brother name Max. He was killed when he was five. My mother taught me how to hunt with a bow and arrow. It's my favorite thing to do. Now it's the morning of the reapings. Each year, I think that I'm going to get picked. My mother gives me the dress that she wore the day she was reaped, it's mandatory. I hate it. I decide to keep my hair down. I walk outside, blinking my blue eyes as the sun's rays hit them. I walk out to the square and listen as the Anthem plays. My heart starts to race. What if I get picked? I'll be killed for sure. Tinka Locki steps on stage. "Hello, welcome to the reapings of the 90th Hunger Games! May luck be _always _on your side!" she says cheerfully. I roll my eyes. She always uses that cheap rip off of Effie Trinket's famous, "May the odds be ever in your favor". After a long, peppy speech, she draws out of the girls bowl. I close my eyes. I can hear her hand searching through the bowl of small papers….. "Willow Mellark!" Tinka announces. I had seen it coming. I prepare myself for this every year, so why am I so….surprised? Fifteen seconds. That's all it took to change my life forever. I carefully step up on stage. When Tinka asks for volunteers, the crowd falls silent. Tinka reaches in to the boys bowl…. "Jay Rune!" she announces. As I hear that name, it's like I go back in time. I was in 1st grade. A bunch of kids were being mean to me. I had lost all hope. Then, a boy with blonde hair and misty grey eyes walked up to me. "Don't listen to them. I think you're pretty," he said. He handed me a simple Lilly and walked away. He gave me hope again. My eyes search the crowd for him. Finally, I see him. He's as handsome as ever, but I don't care. He can't be in the Hunger Games. Anyone but him. He steps up on stage, and our eyes meet for a single second. Peacekeepers escort us to the justice building in separate rooms. First, my parents come in. I can see the panic in my mom's eyes. My dad however, looks calm. He wraps his arms around me silently. My mother pulls out a single gold object from her pocket. It's a mocking jay pin. She puts it on my shirt. "If you're going to win, you'll need this," she says. I look down at it and realize that it's not a Mockingjay. It's instead a canary. I stare at it, astonished. Then, the Peacekeeper takes them away from me. I don't get anymore visitors. I sit in silence for another hour. Tinka comes in and takes me to the train. As I walk in, I see Jay.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello, Willow," Jay says. I wonder if he remembers me. If he realizes that I remember him. "Jay," I say in greeting. Tinka takes me to my room where I undress and get in to a light blue t-shirt and jeans. I walk back in to the main part of the train where I see Tinka, Jay, and Haymitch all sitting at the table, waiting for me. I sit down awkwardly. I know Haymitch very well, he and my mom have been neighbors for…a long time. He is going to be our mentor. He's around 58 years old. "So, what's our strategy?" Haymitch asks. "Isn't that your job?" I ask. He rolls his eyes and looks to Jay. "I'm not sure," Jay admits. We have dinner in an awkward silence. When I'm done, I get up to take a step outside on the balcony of the train. I see a pretty sunset. I just stare at it for a while when hear the door open behind me. Somebody stands next to me. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" the voice asks. I immediately know that it's Jay. "Yeah," I reply. We both stand there, watching the sun in silence. But not awkward silence. Peaceful silence. "I guess we're the least lucky two in District Twelve," he says finally. I nod. After a while, his hand ends up holding mine. I feel comforted by this. I put my head on his shoulder. We had been friends for about five years, but when we were thirteen, Branch banned the interaction of boys and girls under sixteen. "We're in this together," I say. "Forever," Jay adds. That one word made all the difference to me. "I hope you win," I tell him. He laughs. "Hardly. If anyone wins, it'll be you." I close my eyes and smile softly, although I disagree. We sit like that, his arms wrapped around me, for hours. It's night now. The stars twinkle lightly above us. It all appears to be so peaceful. If only that were true. "Willow?" Jay asks. I look up. "I think I've found our strategy." he tells me. "Go on," I say. "Lovers from District 12."


	3. Chapter 3

I look at him in astonishment. Could he really mean it? Had I heard him correctly? A small bit of doubt comes in to his eyes. "You're right," I say softly. I put my head on his chest. That's how we sleep that night. Outside with no blanket. "Willow," I hear a soft voice say. I blink open my eyes. It's morning. "We're here," Jay says softly. He picks me up and carries me to my room. He gives me a soft kiss on the forehead and sets me down on my bed. "We need to get ready, we have a big day ahead." Then he leaves my room and shuts the door. It's hard for me to process what happened last night. Then I finally come to the conclusion that it was real. I get dressed and put on my Mockingjay pin. I walk out of my room and Tinka takes us to the place where we'll be staying until the Games begin. I meet my stylist, Jorsie. He isn't as overdressed as all of the other people in the capitol. He's almost nice. He introduces me to my prep team, Pippa, Lilu, and Jarbod. They're all nice, for Capitol people. I wince as they give me the, "Total Makeover Operation". They pluck my eyebrows, cut my hair, shave my entire body, and do much more things that I've never heard of. When they're done, Jorsie hands me a dress in a plastic bag. I go into the changing room and lock the door behind me. Opening the bag, I find the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. It's puffy and made out of canary yellow feathers. He's obviously basing it off of the life saving canaries that we use in the mines. I smile and slip it on. When I walk out, the crew immediately starts on my hair and make-up. As they do my make-up, Jorsie starts to talk. "You're quiet, aren't you?" he asked. I suppress a small smile and nod. Jorsie laughs, "I've just done the impossible!" I look at him, obviously puzzled. "I made you smile," he explains. I roll my eyes. When they finish making me look pretty, I finally get to look in a mirror. I look amazing in my light yellow blush and eye shadow. I have small 'wings' on my eyes that highlight my blue color. I smile up at Jorsie, then Jay and I are reunited. We stand on the chariot, his arm wrapped around my waist. As our chariot with the coal colored horses come out, I see the crowd. There are so many people, all cheering for me. I smiled and wave, trying to seem confident. When inside, I'm terrified. I see the tributes from District Two. They're both amazingly beautiful with their nature themed clothes. As all the other chariots leave, mine comes close to the exit. Suddenly, we burst in to flames. That's how we disappear, the roar of the audience behind us. When we're allowed to exit the chariot, I hug Jorsie. I whisper, "Thank you." We're both rushed back to our rooms. I fall asleep quickly, I was very tired. The next morning, I'm woken up by Tinka. She gives me the outfit that Jorsie set out for me. I get dressed and then I'm escorted to the training center. As I walk in, Jay by my side, I see the tributes from Two again. They look around our age. They're at the archery range, his hand guiding hers romantically. I roll my eyes. Great, another pair of lovers. Jay and I go to the rope-making station. It's quite boring. This is how we continue for the rest of training, going station to station. It's the next day and we're walking in to the waiting room. Interviews are about to begin. I'm called up on to the stage. "And now, Willow Mellark!" Caesar yells. I walk out to be greeted by a roar of applause and millions of flashing lights. I wave at the audience, smiling. They're eating this up. Caesar motions for them to quiet down, and I sit. "Willow, it's great to see you again," he says, kissing my hand. "It's great to see you too, Caesar." I've met Caesar before. He was the head news reporter when I was born. The capitol loves second generation tributes, although I'm the first. "So, have you and Jay become friends?" he asks. This is my chance to entertain the audience. "Well, do you think that the audience can keep a secret?" I ask. "Yes, I'm sure," Caesar says with a smile. "Jay and I were friends in District Twelve. We've been secretly meeting each other for years." The audience gasps and starts murmuring. "Alright, well, we wish the best for you and Jay. Willow Mellark everyone!"


	4. Chapter 4

Jorsie helps me get in to a simple green shirt with black sweat pants. "Jorsie, thank you for being so nice to me. It means a lot," I tell him. He smiles. "No problem. Remember, I'm rooting for you." Next thing I know, the tube has closed around me and I'm taken up. I see that the setting is a forest. It's pretty. I see the Cornucopia. It has a bow and arrows. I want it, but I won't go for it. Then, the glass opens. Jay runs to the Cornucopia, and it seems that everything happens in slow motion. Jay dives for a sword. The tribute from District Four throws a sword at his back. I jump in front of him, blocking us both with a shield. I grab the bow and arrows and run. My arms get cut by thorns and branches, but I don't care. I have to get away. After running for an hour, I realize I don't have Jay. I freak out. He can't be gone. He's all that was holding me together. I whistle the four-note tune that my mother taught me. The Mockingjays pick it up and start to sing it. I wait. No answer. I walk around aimlessly, whistling the note. Suddenly, I see the District Two girl. She sees me and turns around, her bow pointed strait at me. I walk backwards and suddenly, my foot slips. I almost fall in to a big creek. The girl walks up to me. I have my bow aimed at her too. "Well, well, well, looks like we're both in a deadly position," she says. I nod. "On three, we put our bows down. One, two, three!" I say. We both point our bows down. She sticks her hand out to me. "Emma Smith, District Two," she says. I shake her hand. "Willow Mellark, District Twelve." She has short black hair with small red highlights. She has amazing olive green eyes. "I guess this means that we're allies," Emma says. "I guess you're right," I agree. We walk down in to the creek and start to follow it. We talk about our lives. She's very pampered and her family makes dresses for a living. Once it gets dark, she asks if we can make camp and I nod. We start to argue about where to sleep. "Fine! I'll leave then! We'll have to kill each other eventually, so the sooner you get killed off, the better!" she yells. With that, she storms off. "Stupid prissy," I mutter. I make camp and fall asleep. The next morning, I keep whistling for Jay. I stumble in to Emma again. "I found Jake Hawthorne, the boy from my district. We're allies now," she tells me. I gasp. "Hawthorne?" I mutter. "Yeah, even if he is a Peacekeeper in training, you can't blame me for teaming up with him," she says. At that moment, I feel a deep hate for Jake Hawthorne. My mother used to be in love with his father, Gale. I don't know why I hated it, I just did. I felt betrayed by him. Suddenly, Jake comes out of the bushes, holding a boy by the arm in a tight grip. "Look who I found," he says. I gasp. "Jay!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Put him down, that's our new ally," Emma says. I run to Jay and he catches me in his arms. His warm arms, around me once again. It just felt natural. Jake glares at me and walks over to Emma. "Hey," he says. Emma tells me about an amazing meadow that she found. I agree to follow her to it. It is amazing, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The orange Autumn leaves twinkling in the sunlight. We make camp there and go to sleep. Jake keeps guard although I don't trust him. I apparently roll over in my sleep, because when I wake up I'm entangled in a horrible net in a ditch and I'm paralyzed. I don't know how long it is, but Emma finally finds me. She cuts me free and we run. I'm separated from everybody. I run as fast as I can, wanting to get away. Jay finds me and calms me down. We sit down and he wraps me in his arms. He carries me back to the meadow and we watch the sun set. It's perfect. But perfect only lasts so long. The next morning, I wake up to the sunshine in my eyes. I hear screaming and sit up. I immediately take off. Jay and I got separated, yet again. I heard an agonized scream of pain. Was it Jay? I get really worried. " Willow!" it called. That was undoubtedly Emma. Where is she? I scream her name over and over again. Her screams get softer like the pain was sucking the life out of her. I keep running. No one else is going to die on my watch. I walk, or more like trample, through the meadow into the woods. I see a long mud trail. I run through it splattering mud everywhere. I see Emma on the ground, a large knife in her chest. I fall to her side and start crying. "Emma! No, Emma, you can't die!" I scream. "Willow, you came. Listen, I'm not going to make it. I was never going to anyways. I'm just a prissy, girly, and pampered little brat from District Two." I feel the tears run down my cheeks. "You're more than that. You're an amazing fighter, and you have an amazing personality. You're more than just a piece in their games," I say. Then I look at her deep wound and it becomes obvious that there's only one way to heal it. "Haymitch! Haymitch, please!" I cry. "It's okay, only one of us would have won anyways," Emma says soothingly. "Go on, you have to win this, for both of us," she tells me. Then she points at the sky. "Willow, a parachute!" she yells. I turn around and run to it. I open it and find a small container. I put the gel on Emma's wound immediately. Her eyes close. Then Jake and Jay appear. " Emma!" Jake yells, running to her side. I can tell he has feelings for her, whether he knows it or not. Jay hugs me comfortingly. "She's gone," I whisper. And then, a miracle occurs. Emma opens her eyes and smiles up at Jake.


	6. Chapter 6

I grab Jay's hand an run. I can't have an alliance with anyone. I'll have to kill them eventually. It's better to not have allies. We run for as long as we can. It might have been hours, or merely minutes before I trip, spraining my ankle. I curse and wince in pain. Jay picks me up and take me to the place where we make camp that night. It's only when he lays me down that I notice there's a thick layer of snow on the ground. I look at Jay, puzzled. He shrugs, obviously just as lost as I am. He holds me all night, gently rocking me as I slowly drift off. I wake up the next morning, terrified. I had dream that I was at home still, and waking up to the arena was torture. I have leaves in my hair and I look a mess, no doubt, but I don't care at this point. I want it to all be over. Jay runs his hand over my cheek softly. I smile faintly. "You're the only thing keeping me sane," I whisper. He chuckles softly. I stand up slowly and I immediately feel dizzy. I don't let it show, though. I'm good at hiding my emotions. "Jay, look, the snow is gone. It's actually really hot out." I feel a bead of sweat run down my face. Jay stands up and examines our surroundings. "This must be the gamemakers design." I can hear the soft lapping waves of a large pond nearby, and I walk off to that direction. Stripping off my clothes, I climb in to the water and begin to wash off. My arms, my legs, my face. It feels nice to be the least bit clean again. I get out and put my clothes back on. Rubbing my stomach, I wince in pain. I immediately lean over and vomit. When I'm finished, I drink lots of water to take the taste out. Jay rushes over to me and I look up at him with a weak smile. He runs his hand through my hair once and we gaze in to each others eyes. "Are you feeling alright?" he asks. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Opening my bright blue eyes, I begin to speak. "Jay…I'm pregnant."


End file.
